Do you take a day off when you're sore?

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kiela64
kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
I've been following Yoga With Adrienne's 30 day Yoga Camp, and yesterday was day 6 & my legs are so sore today. It's supposed to be a continuous 30 days, but especially the poses on hands & knees are very challenging for my knees & wrists. I'm wondering if taking a day off would be beneficial or not?
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Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    You know your body best. Taking a day off sounds like a good idea.
  • ovidnine
    ovidnine Posts: 314 Member
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    For me there's 2 kinds of soreness:

    The first sort is from a solid workout the day before and works itself out during warm-ups and my routine.

    The second is fatigue setting in and my body saying "Hey I'm trying to keep up but its getting hard to handle can we take a break and recover?"

    Sounds like you're at the second degree of soreness so a day off would most likely be beneficial.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
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    Sometimes sore is good, sometimes it's not. You need to listen to your body and start to understand the different types of "sore", like ovidnine states above. A good idea is to do something completely different on day two, giving your wrists and ankles a rest, but still working your body. Good luck, and remember, we all get sore...but if something is actually HURTING you, go see a doctor, just in case. xo
  • Jocgaye0724
    Jocgaye0724 Posts: 15 Member
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    No
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    ovidnine wrote: »
    For me there's 2 kinds of soreness:

    The first sort is from a solid workout the day before and works itself out during warm-ups and my routine.

    The second is fatigue setting in and my body saying "Hey I'm trying to keep up but its getting hard to handle can we take a break and recover?"

    Sounds like you're at the second degree of soreness so a day off would most likely be beneficial.

    Thanks! yeah for sure, I've had the general "oh I'm sore from working out" basically every day since starting. That wasn't a problem, I could tell that it was my muscles being sore (eg quads, glutes) but now it's knees & wrists, it feels different and more "painful" and doesn't decrease as I work out.

    I think I'm going to take the day off from yoga. Thanks guys! I'll probably get a walk in, just anything that doesn't put me on my hands and knees.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    If it's the kind of sore where I can't get up from the toilet.. I skip the gym. However, I set up my exercise to rotate so that I can work upper body when lower body feels sore and vice versa.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    When I get to a point that I know I have been overdoing it I will take a day to recover. I am not getting any younger and don't want to risk injury. Most of my exercise comes from running so I try not to get too beat up. Muscle soreness from working unused muscle groups I would power through, joint soreness I would take a day if it is from yoga.
  • mlcollins89
    mlcollins89 Posts: 87 Member
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    Yes and no. I find that after leg days I can get incredibly sore... To the point that rolling over in bed causes me to let out some not so attractive grunts and moans.

    When this happens I typically move my "rest" day to the day after so I can let those muscles heal.

    However, when this happens I do ACTIVE RECOVERY. Stretching, walking, moderate cycle. This promotes blood to the muscle which aids in recovery.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
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    Hi me again! It sounds like you are experiencing joint pain, which is different than workout fatigue....taking a day off is probably paramount to healing...if next week, you are finding the same pain in the same spots, either stop doing that specific yoga, or modify those particular moves. I used to have issues with wrist pain when doing kb's or pushups; after a good year of modifying those activities, I can do them now painfree, with more strength. Good luck xo
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    Yes and no. I find that after leg days I can get incredibly sore... To the point that rolling over in bed causes me to let out some not so attractive grunts and moans.

    When this happens I typically move my "rest" day to the day after so I can let those muscles heal.

    However, when this happens I do ACTIVE RECOVERY. Stretching, walking, moderate cycle. This promotes blood to the muscle which aids in recovery.

    I went to my apartment gym yesterday to walk and then do some stretching and foam rolling. I am a firm believer in active recovery.

    I also feel better even when I'm sick having blood moving rather than trying to just "sleep" it off.
  • ovidnine
    ovidnine Posts: 314 Member
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    Hi me again! It sounds like you are experiencing joint pain, which is different than workout fatigue....taking a day off is probably paramount to healing...if next week, you are finding the same pain in the same spots, either stop doing that specific yoga, or modify those particular moves. I used to have issues with wrist pain when doing kb's or pushups; after a good year of modifying those activities, I can do them now painfree, with more strength. Good luck xo

    +1
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    ovidnine wrote: »
    For me there's 2 kinds of soreness:

    The first sort is from a solid workout the day before and works itself out during warm-ups and my routine.

    The second is fatigue setting in and my body saying "Hey I'm trying to keep up but its getting hard to handle can we take a break and recover?"

    Sounds like you're at the second degree of soreness so a day off would most likely be beneficial.

    I had a really intense workout Thursday and was like # 2 yesterday only with all fatigue and no soreness. I took the day off. Today I am less fatigued and a little sore, so I am going to do as much yoga as I can without pushing myself too hard, and walk.
  • bri170lb
    bri170lb Posts: 1,375 Member
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    kae612 wrote: »
    ovidnine wrote: »
    For me there's 2 kinds of soreness:

    The first sort is from a solid workout the day before and works itself out during warm-ups and my routine.

    The second is fatigue setting in and my body saying "Hey I'm trying to keep up but its getting hard to handle can we take a break and recover?"

    Sounds like you're at the second degree of soreness so a day off would most likely be beneficial.

    Thanks! yeah for sure, I've had the general "oh I'm sore from working out" basically every day since starting. That wasn't a problem, I could tell that it was my muscles being sore (eg quads, glutes) but now it's knees & wrists, it feels different and more "painful" and doesn't decrease as I work out.

    I think I'm going to take the day off from yoga. Thanks guys! I'll probably get a walk in, just anything that doesn't put me on my hands and knees.

    I think this is a smart approach. You don't want to hurt yourself and not be able to do yoga at all!

    I have been working on a 30 day Ab Challenge. It took 38 days to complete! Sometime I just couldn't do what it was asking me to do, so I took a rest day and then did fine the next day.

    I feel like I was not quite at the level of fitness I needed to be at to do it according to the plan, but for me...I DID AWESOME!!!

  • myssjaxson
    myssjaxson Posts: 89 Member
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    It depends for me, I know when I need to take a day off and when I can keep going, listen to your body. :)

    For me, when I first started out with strength the next day I was so sore I couldn't lift up a bottle of water without crying lol. So I took a break for a day or two. Yesterday I was sore from upping my strength training but I did my C25K just fine.
  • BetterBod91
    BetterBod91 Posts: 32 Member
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    I take a day off or if it's not too bad I will do a lower impact workout.
  • agirlcalledrinn
    agirlcalledrinn Posts: 28 Member
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    Hi Kae! Wrist and knee pain is common in yoga beginners or those who have a less-than-every-day type practice. Absolutely take a break! Soreness yes, pain no! You have to build up that wrist strength. Knee wise, you might want to consider upgrading to one of the cushier mats. I have the Bixle Extra Thick and it was worth every dang cent for my poor, angry knees. Holds up real well too-I've had it for over a year now and it's still perfect. Yoga Camp, btw...I feel like she's not explaining how to downgrade postures as much as she did in the 30 Days of Yoga or aiming below an intermediate crowd. I am an every-dayer and some of it has been challenging. My armpits hurt. lol
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    bri170lb wrote: »
    kae612 wrote: »
    ovidnine wrote: »
    For me there's 2 kinds of soreness:

    The first sort is from a solid workout the day before and works itself out during warm-ups and my routine.

    The second is fatigue setting in and my body saying "Hey I'm trying to keep up but its getting hard to handle can we take a break and recover?"

    Sounds like you're at the second degree of soreness so a day off would most likely be beneficial.

    Thanks! yeah for sure, I've had the general "oh I'm sore from working out" basically every day since starting. That wasn't a problem, I could tell that it was my muscles being sore (eg quads, glutes) but now it's knees & wrists, it feels different and more "painful" and doesn't decrease as I work out.

    I think I'm going to take the day off from yoga. Thanks guys! I'll probably get a walk in, just anything that doesn't put me on my hands and knees.

    I think this is a smart approach. You don't want to hurt yourself and not be able to do yoga at all!

    I have been working on a 30 day Ab Challenge. It took 38 days to complete! Sometime I just couldn't do what it was asking me to do, so I took a rest day and then did fine the next day.

    I feel like I was not quite at the level of fitness I needed to be at to do it according to the plan, but for me...I DID AWESOME!!!

    Thanks! Yeah I definitely agree, this challenge might be a little above my current fitness level. But I can totally do it in a longer time frame :)
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    Hi me again! It sounds like you are experiencing joint pain, which is different than workout fatigue....taking a day off is probably paramount to healing...if next week, you are finding the same pain in the same spots, either stop doing that specific yoga, or modify those particular moves. I used to have issues with wrist pain when doing kb's or pushups; after a good year of modifying those activities, I can do them now painfree, with more strength. Good luck xo

    Hey! Do you mind sharing what kind of modifications you did? I haven't seen anything that limits pressure on knees or wrists, for example cat-cow and downward dog are poses I'm perfectly fine at except the knees/wrists fatigue thing.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    Hi Kae! Wrist and knee pain is common in yoga beginners or those who have a less-than-every-day type practice. Absolutely take a break! Soreness yes, pain no! You have to build up that wrist strength. Knee wise, you might want to consider upgrading to one of the cushier mats. I have the Bixle Extra Thick and it was worth every dang cent for my poor, angry knees. Holds up real well too-I've had it for over a year now and it's still perfect. Yoga Camp, btw...I feel like she's not explaining how to downgrade postures as much as she did in the 30 Days of Yoga or aiming below an intermediate crowd. I am an every-dayer and some of it has been challenging. My armpits hurt. lol

    I've really been enjoying it, except for the parts I physically cannot do (the one with the squatting I had to fully sit out, which was unfun). I guess she's referring ppl to other videos - I've looked at the gentle yoga, bedtime yoga, yoga for healthy wrists, yoga for wrist pain ones, but yeah more explanation would be good.

    I'm not sure where to get something like that, but I'll write it down and keep an eye out. I already have a carpeted floor, but do you think a second mat might do something as well? I recently saw some regular/kind of thin ones on sale nearby. My cat tends to destroy them lol so I probably need a new one anyway.
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 599 Member
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    I do not, however, I change my workout and do something else to allow the sore muscles (or calluses, bruises, etc) a day or two to recover.

    Like others have said, however, if it's a true injury, then you might need treatment. Joint injuries need to heal or they'll get much worse. Likewise, arthritis and serious inflammatory problems need special attention from the get go.